Embers
by RickHammersteel
Summary: (AU) Some time after Ruby left for Haven, Yang continues to feel alone. It isn't until Qrow comes back with grave news that gives Yang something to fight for.(Cancelled)


_Her fingers tighten, her hand sweating as it gripped the soft flesh of the offending creature beside her. Red eyes flare up as she gritted her teeth, her hand clenching tighter around her neck,"You... you are nothing but a hindrance to me, you always were!" Little hands grasped her arm, a voice begging her to stop, before a resounding crack could be heard._

Yang's eyes open slowly as she sat up in her bed. She looked to her left and held her only hand up and clenched it. The image of her hand around her little sister's neck still burned in her mind, even weeks after she left. She sighed, remembering those awful things she said, about Summer not being her mom, how she was stuck with her, like Ruby being born was a curse on her. She looked to her left, at a white box, thinking about how she practically disowned Ruby, for what? She frowned,"It's not her fault," She whispered to herself. It wasn't Ruby's fault Blake left her on that platform, not her fault things fell apart at Beacon, not her fault Yang lost a piece of herself. She looked down at her hand.

"Was wondering when you'd wake up, Firecracker." A familiar voice came from her doorway.

Yang slowly trailed her eyes to see Qrow leaning on the frame,"What are you doing here?" she asked,"I thought you were watching Ruby."

The older man looked down and gave a heavy sigh,"I was, but..." He looked up at her,"Ruby's changed, Yang, and not for the better." Qrow began to walk towards Yang's bed, stopping at the nightstand where the white box lay,"I'm sure you must've noticed something was off with her before she left?"

 _Yang raised her hand at Ruby in rage,"You tell me what's wrong, Ruby!?" She gripped her neck and squeezed._

Yang shook the image from her mind,"No, I... really haven't." Her eyes almost watered for a second.

"Ruby was acting meaner." Qrow said, frowning,"She was snappier, disrespectful, and cynical. She insulted Tai, myself, and you." He took out his flask and took a swig.

 _Yang watched as the pale, angry Ruby stood in the doorway,"Just hide from the world like Dad." She barely noticed a slight glint of black in the whites of her eyes._

"At first, I believed it due to stress," Qrow's eyes bored into Yang,"We all act a little different under stress." He sighed,"But, then as she continued her adventure with the remaining members of Team JNPR," He frowned,"I started to notice that she grew angrier, more ruthless." He looked away,,"I saw her aim her scythe in front of an innocent person's neck just for not giving her enough lien."

Yang's head suddenly turned to her uncle,"What? Why didn't Jaune, Ren, or Nora try to stop her!?"

"They tried." Qrow frowned,"But Ruby threatened them, used Pyrrha's name against them. They are, or were, afraid of her."

Yang's eyes widened,"But, who would be scared of Ruby?"

 _Yang's eyes stared into the door as Ruby slammed it,"What the hell did she just say?" She asked herself, a tear came into her eye_

"When the person you've known to be a kind, caring person starts turning into a hideous creature, both physically and mentally, you tend to get a little frightened." Qrow stared at her,"Like when someone who normally loves their baby sister, suddenly strangles her for trying to help?"

Yang looked down at her hand,"... You said 'were.'" She said, trying to change the subject.

"They're under her control now," Qrow said.

"What?" Yang looked up,"But, how?"

"I said that Ruby's changed, but it's not just in her mind, it's her body as well. She's paler, her eyes have gone red, and her hair's gone white." Qrow frowned,"When I last saw them, the rest of JNR had red eyes as well, and they were following her every command." He sighed,"As for how, well, you know about Ruby's silver eyes, right?"

Yang nodded,"Let me guess, you're talking about the Silver-Eyed Warriors, right?" She sighed,"Mom told me about them when I asked about her eyes. Said they could scare off Grimm with a glance."

"I've been seeing Ruby control Grimm to attack settlements, Yang." Qrow said,"Whatever's caused her change, it might have something to do with her Silver Eyes."

"What, like some kind of corruption?" Yang asked.

"Something like that. Ruby's silver eyes seemed to have attracted something that turned her into what she is now." Qrow shook his head,"That... thing is warping her, using her own powers to control others, humans and grimm."

Yang gave a heavy sigh,"And what do you want me to do about it? Isn't there someone else more suitable to find and stop her?"

"No." Qrow said with a glare,"I can't contact Blake, Jerk Schnee most likely won't even let me five feet near his daughter, and I doubt any other huntsman has the connection you have with Ruby." He looked at the white box,"Yang, you are the only other person here capable of stopping Ruby. And no, I've tried stopping her, but I was unsuccessful."

Yang fell silent.

"She needs someone close to her to help her through this corruption, so I'm asking you, Yang, to at least consider not moping around, and help." Qrow turned and proceeded to the doorframe.

As the door closed, Yang turned her head to the white box,"... Blake." she frowned,"Weiss." She reached her hand to pick up the box,"I may not be able to find you two, but I can find Ruby." She opened it to reveal a silver metal arm,"I failed you once, Ruby, I don't plan on doing it again."

Yang winced in pain as she placed the arm into her stump. Qrow had told her and Ruby horror stories about how 20 years ago, people would scream in sheer pain just by switching prosthetics around. He once said that attaching them would feel like several Ursas were stomping on your limbs, or so he'd been told by certain people. While the pain wasn't nearly that bad, thanks to advancements in technology, the feeling of nerves attaching to wires still didn't feel very good at all. Yang gasped, flexing the metallic limb several times, calibrating it to her liking. The manual included within the box certainly helped her a lot, because she didn't want any crappy attachment to weigh her down in the middle of a fight.

She looked at herself in the mirror, raising her arm to it,"Huh, it does kind of look cool." She flexed it again,"Though, I don't know if it's practical, and it definitely needs some color." She sighed, reaching down to her dresser, and unlatching a certain compartment.

Within the compartment lay a single yellow gauntlet,"Hello Ember Celica. Sorry I haven't gotten the chance to use you." She sighed, closing it again,"But I'll get to you real soon." She got up and went out the door to her room.

She heard voices as she neared the stairs, those of her uncle and her father,"What were you thinking, Qrow? You can't expect her to just hop on out of here immediately, she needs time!"

"Time we don't have. If she doesn't act now, your youngest is going to go nuts on the rest of the world!" Qrow's voice shouted,"Ruby has to be stopped, Tai."

Yang sighed, remembering the last time those two argued shortly after Summer died. She walked down the stairs as the conversation continued.

"I don't like how you seem to want to force this on her! Heck, I think you even forced this on Ruby!" Taiyang growled,"You seem to like to force my daughters to grow up faster than they should!"

"I didn't force anything, Tai. I'm still giving her a choice, as I did with Ruby." Qrow said.

Yang looked on from the doorway, frowning as she watched the two sit on either side of the dinner table, glaring daggers at each other.

"I'll do it," Yang said finally.

Tai suddenly shot up and looked at her, and her new arm, "Y-you sure?"

 _Yang's eyes became a dark crimson as she held Ruby by the neck._

"... Yes." She looked at her hand, "She needs me right now, and I'm..." She looked at Taiyang,"I'm doing no good sitting here."

Taiyang nodded,"Very well." He cracked his knuckles,"Let's go, Qrow can watch." He said with a smile.

Yang raised her right arm, catching the hook with her bicep. She let go, ducking under one punch before striking out with a strong left cross into Tai's cheek, knocking him to the ground,"Heh, this thing wasn't as cumbersome as I'd thought it'd be." She flexed it again,"Guess this thing is pretty Hand-y don't ya think?"

Tai got up and chuckled,"Yeah, glad you found a way to re-Arm yourself!"

"Yeah, I've been feeling pretty down ever since I've been dis-Armed!"

"I gotta Hand it to ya, that was a good one!"

Qrow moaned from his tree,"There's not enough alcohol in the world to save me from this!" He muttered with a face to his forehead.

"What's the matter, Uncle? Can't Hand-le our wit!?" Yang grinned.

"Tai, remember what I said when she was born?" Qrow asked.

"'Oh god, there's going to be two of them running around?'" Taiyang grinned.

"This is what I meant!" Qrow shouted. He looked down at his brother-in-law,"Just get to the flaws in her fighting style already!"

"Flaws?" Yang asked,"I happen to think I was doing pretty good!" She frowned, placing her hands on her hips.

Qrow leaped down from his branch and dusted himself off, as Tai began to speak,"Well, I've seen your earlier fights in the tournament..."

"What, my technique was off or something?" Yang crossed her arms in annoyance.

"Well," Tai stretched his arms behind him. He walked over to where Zwei kept guard of the towels. Petting the loyal corgi, he continued,"Partially. However, I've noticed you keep overusing your semblance in those fights."

"So!?" Yang stomped forward,"A lot of people kept using their semblances!"

"A lot of people don't have your semblance." Qrow placed his hands in his pockets,"Yours is basically to get mad after a beatdown. All that anger can kinda cloud your vision, Firecracker."

"Says Drunkle Qrow." Yang narrowed her eyes.

"Hey, the alcohol helps a lot more than you think!" In response, Qrow took another drink from his flask.

"That semblance of yours is perfect as a trump card, especially as a last resort tactic, but it isn't always going to be the right solution. " Taiyang held the towel in his hand as he turned to his daughter,"Instead of just powering your way through an obstacle with brute force, you need to realize that sometimes," He smiled,"the best solution isn't always the first thing that comes to mind. Because if you come across an opponent stronger than you, or able to take you out before that semblance activates? Well, I think you know the result."

Yang looked at her metal arm in response. She frowned at it, the image of that masked man still burned in her mind. She blinked, noticing a small reflection in the arm. She immediately ducked under a scythe swing, before turning and putting her fists up at Qrow.

Qrow twirled his scythe before planting it on the ground. He smirked,"Can't let you and Tai have all the fun!" He sidestepped a jab from Taiyang,"Now, Tai, how many times have you lost against me during our sparring matches?"

Taiyang skipped on the ground, kicking up dust before stopping and cracking his knuckles,"Last I checked, we were Tai-ed!"

"No, just no." Qrow muttered with a roll of his eyes. He held up his scythe, and then sped forward. He swung his scythe horizontally from the left with intense speed. A sharp metallic sound erupted as the attack was stopped mid-swing by a metal arm.

Yang grinned, keeping her left hand on her bicep, before quickly using her left leg to sweep at Qrow's feet.

Qrow leaped up from the kick, before looking up to see the elder Xiao Long leaping up and punching him to the ground.

Taiyang landed, dusting himself off, before spinning around and blocking a jab from Yang. He flipped his other arm to grab Yang's metal fist, before seeing Yang's forehead flying towards his own.

Taiyang staggered back from the hit. He rubbed his forehead, before ducking under a scythe swing. He swung a right uppercut near Qrow's abs.

Qrow swung to the side to dodge it, before raising his elbow behind him to hit Yang in the nose.

Yang rubbed her nose, a smile came to her face as she and her father threw jabs towards the perpetually drunk hunter.

The hunter in question ducked under both of their fists, watching as they collided together in a flash of aura. Qrow held a glint in his eye as he used the back of his scythe to sweep Tai. In mid-fall, Qrow kicked him in the abs, sending him flying towards the single tree.

Yang swung a roundhouse kick at Qrow as he got up. She frowned when Qrow simply dodged it by weaving his head to the right. Planting her foot on the ground, she proceeded to send two jabs at him, only for Qrow to weave his head left and right with a confident smirk on his face before swinging his scythe to knock Yang back.

Qrow pointed it at his niece,"Any last words?"

Yang got up, and looked at her uncle with a cruel smirk,"Get him, Zwei!"

Qrow's eyes widen,"What!?" His face was suddenly attacked by a black ball of fur. He landed on his back, giggling to himself as the dog proceeded to lick his face,"Cheater." he laughed as he rubbed the dog's head. Zwei playfully barked in response.

"No one expects the dog, Bro." Tai laughed as he sat up.

Yang laughed as well, feeling something nice and warm as the three laid on the ground. She almost forgot for a second all her inhibitions and depression as she took in this happy moment. For a second, she was hoping her little sister would pop out of the house, running over and probably tackling her, joining in her fun. For another second, she wished Summer would pop her head out the window and call them back into the house. For a third second, she wondered if she would have as much fun with Raven. Perhaps Raven would join them, or maybe just plain ignore them.

Qrow slowly got up, and gently plucked Zwei off. He placed the corgi down onto the ground, and patted his head. He got up and began to transform his scythe back into its sword form and placing it onto his back, "Welp, it's time for me to go."

"So soon? You embarrassed about being beaten by a dog?" Yang said with a grin.

Qrow chuckled,"Nope. You know I don't like being in places for very long, as much as I'd like to stay here and watch you kick Tai's butt."

"Hey!" Tai crossed his arms in anger.

Qrow knelt down and ruffled Yang's hair,"See ya later, Firecracker." He walked by a tree and came through it in his crow form.

Yang sighed,"He always seems to leave at completely random moments." She muttered as she got up.

"It's his semblance." Taiyang cracked his back.

"Leaving people behind?" Yang asked.

Tai looked back at her in shock,"That's right, we never quite told you girls, did we?"

"Told us what?" Yang blinked.

Tai sighed as he walked over to her,"His semblance is to cause bad luck around him, but he can't turn it off like everyone else can."

Yang gasped,"Wait, that's why Crescent Rose always jams whenever Ruby trained with him?"

Tai nodded,"Yep. It's perfect on enemies, terrible around friends and family. I still remember when you were two-years-old and Summer was pregnant with Ruby, Qrow was helping around the house, and accidentally knocked a vase towards you. Luckily, I was there to save you, but I remember seeing his pale face as he quickly ran out of the house. That's kind of how I realized how bad he had it."

Yang looked away,"Wow." Then she looked up at Taiyang, something sparking in her eyes,"Tell me, did he save her!?"

"Who- oh," Taiyang sighed,"She's fine, Yang, a little beat up, but she was saved."

Yang caressed the yellow front of Bumblebee,"Hey there baby, did you miss me?" she whispered into its headlight,"I'm so glad you're okay..."

"You have your mother's looks, and some of her personality, but you do have something in common with Summer." her father facepalmed behind her,"You both have this fascination with inanimate objects!"

"You don't know what we have!" Yang shouted behind her, and then went back to stroking her bike,"He doesn't understand our love..."

Yang put an arm through her brown trenchcoat, and stared at herself in the mirror, looking at the purple sash she placed around her knee,"One last thing to do before I leave completely." she said with a frown.

"You really sure about this? No one's going to blame you if you back out now." Taiyang placed a hand on her back.

Yang sighed, looking at her arm now painted yellow,"I'm going, Dad. I haven't been there for her before, now I will be." She turned and gave Taiyang a hug,"I'll bring her back."

Taiyang sighed,"At least this is a better good bye than a letter." He let go and looked at her,"Good luck, honey."

Yang stood at the cliffside, smiling at the grave,"Hey Mom." She said, looking at the name 'Summer Rose' engraved on it, "Sorry I haven't been seeing you lately." Yang looked away and held her metal arm,"Things have been pretty hectic. Though I'm pretty sure you've already guessed that..." Yang sighed.

She crossed her legs as she sat down in front of the tombstone,"So," She raised her metal arm, now painted yellow, "Like it? I tried to make it at least a little more interesting." She lowered it,"Mom, I... I've been lost. His mask still burns in my head sometimes. I freak out at the worst moments, I still have the dreams about him again."

Yang growled,"But that isn't the only thing. I almost attacked Ruby. I broke my promise to you the day you died. I held her neck in my hand and squeezed," She looked at her left hand, tears welling up in her eyes,"I tried to kill her, Mom. I... I don't know, I must've lost control or something, but I tried to hurt her."

Yang tried to breathe in to calm herself,"I failed. I failed her, I failed Pyrrha, I failed everyone!" She sobbed into her knees,"Most of all, I failed you as well. Because of my own stupidity, I drove everyone away, and now Ruby's gone crazy." She shook her head,"I'm so sorry Mom."

After a few seconds of crying, Yang managed to compose herself enough to bring her hand to the gravestone,"But I've decided: I'm going to make it right. I'm going to find Ruby, and then I'm going to save her. Not sure how, I'll figure it out. Then we'll find Weiss, save her, then I'll find Blake. I'll ask her why she left, and then figure out how I'm going to respond." She gave a sad smile,"See? I'm making progress. A year ago, I'd have just plain punch her first." She chuckled to herself,"I'll do the same to my biological mom if I come across her on the way too. Haven't forgotten about her yet, but I'll put her on the back-burner."

She slowly got up and put her aviator shades on,"I'm going to make things right. I'm going to make you proud again." She turned to her bike leaning on a tree, "Say hi to Pyrrha for me, and Penny too, if she's up there and not, you know, in a backup hard drive somewhere. See ya, Mom."

When Yang walked to her bike, she could suddenly feel a hand on her shoulder. She turned, but only saw a white rose petal. She chuckled to herself as she got on to her bike.

 **A/N:**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own a thing in this story. RWBY and all related characters are owned by Rooster Teeth.**

 **This was something I came up with after reading another fanfic on this site. I'm willing to take any criticism, good or bad, I don't care.**


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